Plasmaexchange plus immunoglobulins for treatment of hypergammaglobulinaemic patients with AIDS and AIDS-related complex (ARC).

AIDS patients often develop a conspicuous although functionally ineffective hypergammaglobulinaemia. We have treated four patients affected by AIDS or AIDS-related complex (ARC) with repeated courses of plasmaexchange coupled with immunoglobulin infusions. The schedule of each course was as follows: one plasmapheresis treatment once a week for 5 consecutive weeks, each treatment amounting to an average exchange of 3000 ml of plasma, replaced by plasma/protein and 5% albumin/physiological saline solutions, and followed by infusion of 15 gr of human immunoglobulins. Each plasmapheresis course was completed by additional weekly administrations of the same amount of human immunoglobulins. In each patient we noted fast cessation of fever, weight gain, and an overall clinical amelioration with decrease of infections, asthenia, and anorexia. Haematological, serological, and immunological parameters (particularly IgG serum levels) also significantly improved after treatment.